Service Sector Employment Research Articles

Internal Marketing and Business Performance: A Survey from Service Sector Employees in Nepal

Internal Marketing and Business Performance: A Survey from Service Sector Employees in Nepal

Labor force dynamics and economic performance: A case of Nigeria, India, and China

Aim/purpose – This study investigated the nexus between labor force dynamics and economic performance in Nigeria, India, and China. Design/methodology – The study used annual time series data spanning from 1991 to 2021 obtained from World Development Indicators (WDI). After the unit root stationarity test, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) was used for the analysis. Findings – Findings from the study support a positive short-run relationship between labor force participation and economic growth in all three countries. However, in China, population growth impacts the economy positively in the long run, while life expectancy at birth negatively impacts the economy in the short run. This is because China’s popula- tion is aging. In India, employment in the industrial and service sectors positively impacts the economy in the long run. In the short run, life expectancy at birth influences the economy negatively. Furthermore, in Nigeria, the industrial and service sector employment impact the economy negatively in the long run, though there are positive effects in the short run. Research implications – The Indian government needs policy reforms in the areas of education and health to take advantage of the potential of its youthful population. The Nigerian government requires implementing a wide range of education, investment, and employment-generating policies to foster tangible economic growth. These reforms could help both India and Nigeria take advantage of the potential for demographic change. The Chinese government, already having policy reforms in place, is geared towards improved fertility and population growth for economic growth in the near future. These policies, coupled with the study’s findings, could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the implications of demographic change on economic performance. Originality/value contributions – This analysis explored and compared the demographic potentials of two young countries (India and Nigeria) and an aging, wealthy economy (China) from the working class. Policy lessons for the attainment of demographic divi- dends are borrowed from China. Keywords: labor force, economic performance, demographic change, population dynamics, ARDL model. JEL Codes: J10, J11

Understanding Cyber Threats Vulnerability of Future Victimization in Fintech

Individuals’ participation in online activities is expanding, and the number of businesses moving to online operations is increasing, raising the possibility that they will become victims of cybercrime. Vulnerability in a technological system refers to any flaw or weak point within a technology or network that could be used to inflict damage or give an attacker unauthorized control. On the other hand, victimization results from intentional actions by an individual or organization to exploit, harm, or unlawfully gain access to another’s assets or possessions. This research seeks to evaluate the future vulnerability of private sector employees to cybercrime when using FinTech. This study was conducted using an approach drawing from victimization theory. The study focuses on three primary factors influencing vulnerability: the economic shutdown, income inequality, and reliance on technology. The primary method for gathering data in this study was through questionnaire surveys, specifically distributed among service sector employees in Malaysia. Findings from this study show that economic shutdown (ES) due to COVID-19 and income inequality (II) have a significant positive relation with the vulnerability of future victimization in FinTech. However, reliance on technology does not significantly influence the vulnerability of future victimization in FinTech. This research contributes to the expanding body of knowledge regarding risk factors associated with future victimization in FinTech. The findings benefit companies and individuals, offering insights into areas that should be fortified to decrease vulnerability.

SELF-ESTEEM AS A MEDIATOR IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EARNINGS AND JOB INSECURITY

When the researches on job insecurity, which is a considerable subject for both individuals and organizations, are examined, it appears that the research examining the relationship between job insecurity, self-esteem, and earnings are limited. This research aimed to analyze the mediator role of self-esteem in the relationship between earnings (wage & household income) and job insecurity. The research sample is 393 service sector employees in Kocaeli who participated willingly and opted through random sampling. The structural Equation Model was used in the analysis of the data. For analyses, IBM SPSS 21 and AMOS 21 were used. According to the findings self-esteem had a mediator role in the relationship between earnings (wage & household income) and job insecurity, and the three variables were associated with each other. Earnings primarily affect the self-esteem of individuals, which, in turn, affect job insecurity. The increase in earnings also increases self-esteem, and this increase in self-esteem affects job insecurity perception in a negative way. Therefore job insecurity decreases. The findings are interpreted based on the relevant literature and previous studies.

COVID-19 knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices among government and private bank workers in Ethiopia.

Bank workers are among the many service-sector employees who are at risk of COVID-19 infection. Individual's adherence to control measures is affected by their COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). Since KAP is an important cognitive key in public health prevention and promotion, this study aimed to identify COVID-19 KAP-related gaps among bank workers in Dessie City, Ethiopia and to guide banks and health authorities in taking corrective actions. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1st to 30th, 2021 among 413 bank workers. A binary logistic regression was applied to determine association of independent variables with outcome variables using three different models. Variables at 95% confidence interval (CI) with a p < 0.25 from bivariate analysis were transported to three different multivariable logistic regression models and then variables with a p-value of 0.05 from the multivariable analysis of each model were declared as significantly associated with the outcome variables. The results of this study show that 84.7% [95% CI: 81.1-88.1] of bank workers had good knowledge, 50.4% positive attitude, and 50.6% [95% CI: 45.8-55.0] good practice towards prevention of COVID-19. The only variable significantly associated with knowledge in this study was positive attitude (AOR = 8.89; 95%CI: 3.34-23.64). Being ≥35 years old (AOR = 2.46; 95%CI: 1.25-4.84) and getting information on COVID-19 (AOR = 3.81; 95%CI: 1.84-7.91) were among factors significantly associated with attitude towards COVID-19 prevention, whereas being female and ≥ 35 years old (AOR = 2.56; 95%CI: 1.29-5.06) and (AOR = 2.73; 95% CI: 1.15-6.51), respectively were factors associated with good preventive practice towards COVID-19. Considering those significant factors responsible for determining COVID-19 KAP level of respondents, health education program and information dissemination are recommended, including appropriate strategies by policy makers and bank managers to develop effective interventions for COVID-19 transmission in banks.

Fulfillment of requirements for professional qualifications of employees in the hotel services sector by the example of a maid and a cook

The article talks about the requirements for professional qualifications of workers in the hotel services sector.

Personality, Organizational Climate and Therapeutic Factors of Group Dynamics

This study aims to reveal how therapeutic factors of group dynamics are related to organizational climate and personality dimensions. These therapeutic factors are used to evaluate group strengths and limitations in clinical psychology (Yalom, 1995), and are now adapted to the field of organizational behavior. This adaptation aims to illuminate how an organization's psychological climate and its members' personality traits impact workplace socialization and team social interaction. As part of the research, the therapeutic factors scale (group dynamics inventory, GDI) (Phan et al., 2004)), was introduced into the Turkish context, and the necessary validity analyses were carried out. The study was conducted with a sample of service sector employees working as a group (in teams) in Ankara. The research results indicate that group dynamics had a positive and significant link with personality types and organizational climate. As a result, a positive relation was discovered between altruism, which is a group dynamics inventory sub-dimension and these personality dimensions, extraversion, agreeableness, and stability. When the link between organizational climate and group dynamics was explored, a positive and substantial association was discovered. As a result of the analysis, a positive relationship was found between reward, standards, and structure, which are sub-dimensions of organizational climate, and altruism and cohesiveness, which are sub-dimension of group dynamics.

Development and Validation of the Workplace Affective Events Survey.

Background Work, a central aspect of human life, serves vital economic and social functions. There is a burgeoning interest in positive emotions in the workplace, which can enhance creativity, foster social connections, and improve problem-solving abilities. These emotions are pivotal in key organizational outcomes, including employee performance and health. Despite the extensive examination of factors like job satisfaction and workplace stressors, a knowledge gap exists regarding the everyday workplace events that influence emotions and their contribution to overall workplace emotional health.The present study introduces the Workplace Affective Events Survey (WAES), a new tool that can facilitate the advancement of research in this field. Purpose This study aimed to develop a tool to assess daily workplace events that lead to positive or negative emotional responses and the intensities of such responses. The study also examined the relationship between theseevents and the associated affect-intensities with trait affect, and social companionship at work for convergent validation. Methodology The tool development entailed a multi-phase approach which encompassed item generation, content validation, pre-pilot trials, and pilot testing of the WAES. Participants were entry and mid-level service sector employees aged 25-55 years. Themes generated using focus group discussions and one-to-one interviews were mapped against a known taxonomy of workplace affective events. Expert validation and pre-pilot trials helped inrefining the final items. The main phase engaged 300 individuals from nine service industries across 29 organizations in an urban metropolitan city in India. WAES was administered alongside standardized measures of trait-affect and workplace social companionship. Results WAES subscales demonstrated acceptable reliability. Participants reported positive daily affective events more often than negative ones, with the average intensity of positive emotions surpassing that of negative emotions. Notably, trait affect scores and social companionship exhibited significant correlations with daily affectiveevents and their intensity. Conclusions The WAES offers a novel tool to investigate daily emotional experiences in the workplace. The data suggest that a within-person disposition such as trait-affect might play a lesser role in generating positive affective events than contextual factors.These findings underscore the value of creating work environments that consistently nurture positive emotional experiences.

EMOTIONAL LABOUR IN MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS STUDIES: AN EVALUATION BASED ON WOS DATABASE

The aim of this study is to examine the scientific publications on emotional labour in the journals in the categories of Management and Business Administration in the Web of Science (WoS) database by descriptive content analysis method. Within the scope of the purpose of the study, the keyword "emotional labour" was searched in the WoS database in the Management and Business categories, Social Sciences Citation (SSCI), Emerging Sources Citation (ESCI) and Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIExpended) indexes, both in the subject titles and in the titles of the studies. As a result of the search, a total of 82 studies related to the subject were reached. The studies were analyzed by descriptive content analysis method according to the year they were published, the journal in which they were published, the type of research they used, the sample group they studied, the number of citations they received and the countries. According to the findings obtained as a result of the analysis, it is seen that the studies on emotional labour have increased after 2018; the studies were mostly written in 2020 and 2022, the journals that publish the most on the subject are "Gender Work and Organization" and "International Journal of Human Resource Management", the "quantitative" research method is mostly preferred in the studies, the sample group in which the related subject is most studied consists of "service sector employees" and "nurses" respectively, the most cited article is Brotheridge, C. M., &amp; Lee, R. T. (2003)'s "Development and validation of the Emotional Labour Scale.", and the country with the highest number of publications is England. Based on the findings, in this study, a general profile of the scientific publications written on the subject was created in order to create a framework for the development of the emotional labour phenomenon, which is handled by different disciplines, in the management and business literature, and suggestions for future research were presented to the relevant researchers.

Can Mindfulness be an Alternative for Servant Leadership? A Well-being Perspective

Servant leaders go beyond their self-centeredness and genuinely work toward strengthening the well-being (WB) of their followers. However, organizations cannot solely rely on servant leaders to stimulate the WB of their workforce as numerous factors affect servant leadership (SL), which may hinder its successful implementation in the workplace. Therefore, it is essential to determine to what extent an individual trait such as mindfulness can compensate for this leadership. Being focused, optimistic, and present in the moment fosters the WB of a person, which may reduce their reliance on external leadership. Thus, by relying on the “substitutes for leadership theory,” this study examines the moderating role of mindfulness in the SL and WB relationship. The data were collected from the 265 Indian service sector employees and were analyzed using the SPSS-20 and AMOS-21 software. The study’s results revealed that SL and mindfulness were significantly related to employee WB. Moreover, employees’ mindfulness moderates the SL and WB relationship. Also, mindfulness partly substitutes for a low level of SL in the workplace. Hence, by organizing meditation and yoga sessions in the organizations, employees’ mindfulness can be enhanced which reduce the reliance on the leadership style of the managers.

Gamification Influence on the Quality of Employee Knowledge Contributions: Gender Disparity in Service Organizations Post Covid-19

Covid-19 has emerged with inevitable changes in societies around the world. Organizations face difficulties in both pandemic and post-pandemic situations, engaging people towards producing knowledge to remain competitive. Knowledge is deemed to be a crucial asset for organizations. Quality knowledge contribution among employees can provide a competitive advantage by enabling them to serve their clients in a more advanced and well-organized manner. Despite this, research on knowledge management activities in service organizations in South Asia, specifically in Bangladesh, is limited. This study is motivated to explore the post-pandemic scenario of a developing country based on the service sector. The study aims to understand the relationship between gamification and employee knowledge contribution with a diverse group response highlighting gender aspects in the context of Bangladesh. The study employs a quantitative method, gathering data from various service sector employees through a questionnaire survey. This study develops a research model relating organizational gamification activities (rewardability and competition) and quality knowledge contribution. The results confirm the impact of rewardability and competition on employee quality knowledge contribution, with the multi-group analysis based on gender showing disparities between male and female responses. Male responses found a significant relationship between gamification and quality knowledge contribution with both activities. In contrast, female responses are insignificant considering competition regarding quality knowledge contribution. The study result produces a unique context related to Bangladesh's service sector as the first initiative to the best of our knowledge. The study recommends modifications in service organizations to foster an environment that promotes quality knowledge contribution in day-to-day transactions. It will also enhance issues related to women's empowerment and the quest for new approaches the organization may rethink to remain competitive. Therefore, the study's findings can provide research pleas to the policymakers, academics, and practitioners and will explore diversity in similar economies related to the service sector.

The health and economic impacts of emergency measures to combat heavy air pollution

Emergency measures are effective measures that can be quickly taken in response to heavy air pollution. They not only have an obvious impact on slowing down the accumulation of particulate matter but also have a significant impact on public health and socio-economic development. Therefore, to analyze the effectiveness of emergency measures, one must assess their environmental, health and economic impacts. In this paper, we use exposure-response functions and a city-level computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to do so for China's Jing-Jin-Ji region. We find that the emergency measures implemented in 2019 significantly improve the region's air quality and enhance public health by reducing risk associated with acute bronchitis. Moreover, those emergency measures notably benefit the Jing-Jin-Ji region economically by expanding labor supply, most notably in Beijing and Tianjin. It seems Beijing and Tianjin should compensate industrial cities in Hebei, which enabled the Jing-Jin-Ji region's better air quality but encountered far fewer economic benefits. Handan, Baoding, and Cangzhou are among the cities in Hebei that are expanding employment in manufacturing and service sectors. These results can provide scientific guidance and policy suggestions for government while using emergency measures to combat regional heavy air pollution considering its health and economic benefits.

Impact of COVID-19 stress on employee performance and well-being: role of trust in management and psychological capital

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented case of organisation–environment interaction in the occupational settings. Using Palmer and colleagues (2003) model of work stress, this study aims to examine the influence of COVID-19 stress on employee performance and psychological well-being. Furthermore, drawing on conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989), the role of trust in management and psychological capital as moderators has also been explored.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from the service sector employees (N = 507) using purposive sampling technique.FindingsStructural equation modelling analysis revealed the negative impact of COVID-19 stress on employee performance and psychological well-being; moderated by trust in management and psychological capital, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed conceptual model contributes to the stress management literature by providing an understanding of how COVID-19-related stress impacts employee behaviour in organisational context. The present study considers the COVID-19 stress as bio-psycho-socioeconomic challenge that impacts and determines nearly all the activities of the individuals, groups and organisations at a global scale.Practical implicationsThe findings of the studies offer several managerial implications pertaining to performance and well-being at workplace especially during such crisis characterised by the elements of uncertainty and ambiguity. Identification of the personal resources would prove beneficial for the management in devising and implementing customised interventions for employees and the organisation. Since the pandemic has impacted each individual differently, human resource managers should remind their employees to be vigilant about self-care and take advantage of their health care benefits, particularly with regards to mental health.Originality/valueThe proposed conceptual model contributes to the workplace stress management literature by providing an understanding of how COVID-19-related stress impacts employee outcomes in the organisational context. Furthermore, identifying personal resources would prove beneficial for the management in devising and implementing customised interventions at the workplace.

Linking Workplace Incivility and Emotional Exhaustion: A Moderated Mediation Examination

Ignorance in cultivating a harmonious work culture and not addressing the negative misconduct at the workplace is highly undesirable for the organisations and taxing for individual and team-level performances. Drawing upon conservation of resources theory, a moderated mediation framework is hypothesised where workplace incivility predicts emotional exhaustion in employees, and organisational social capital is identified as a critical resource mediating the mechanism. In addition, irresponsible leadership is tested as a boundary condition influencing this relationship. A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire collected data from a heterogeneous sample of 410 Indian service sector employees providing evidence for the hypothesised relationships. Results confirm that participants experiencing higher levels of incivility reported greater levels of emotional burnout. This outcome is affected by irresponsible leadership such that the higher the levels of irresponsible leadership, the more the social capital is undermined and emotional exhaustion rises in employees.

Employee’s Intentions to Use HR Analytics: Technology Acceptance Model with Job Relevance and Self-Efficacy

The current examination aims to measure the determinants of adoption intentions of employees in the context of human resource analytics. In this view, a technology acceptance model was applied with four additional constructs namely, social influence, job relevance, self-efficacy and perceived enjoyment. The responses were collected from 345 service sector employees. Keeping in view the proposed relationships, partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed. It is found that perceived usefulness is significantly influenced by social influence and job relevance. However, the perceived enjoyment did not find significant with perceived ease of use. The present study has implications for theory, managers and international human resource managers. The novel contribution of this study is that it integrates job relevance, self-efficacy, social influence and perceived enjoyment to measure the adoption intentions of HR analytics.

Proactive Personality and Employee Engagement: The Mediating Role of Employee Voice

Recent market congestion and intense competition elevated the need for the organizations to engage their workforce to foster their loyalty. And, to achieve this objective, proactive personality of an employee characterized by ability to voice and ability to take initiative can prove fruitful in stimulating the engagement level. Based on the premise, this study aims to examine the relationship between proactive personality and employee engagement. Also, it intends to find novel progress in this area by investigating the mediating role of employee voice between proactive personality and employee engagement. For this, data were collected from 220 Indian service sector employees, which were then analysed using the SPSS (Version 20) and the Jamovi (Version 1.8.4.0) software. Particularly, the analysis comprised confirmatory factor analysis, followed by multiple regression and mediation analysis. The results revealed that proactive personality and employee engagement were significantly related, with employee voice partially mediating this relationship. These findings imply that as proactive employees are more like to raise their voice and provide valuable suggestions and ideas, and such proactive nature of theirs ultimately helps in augmenting their engagement towards their work.

Does Reshoring Generate Employment? A Study on Services Reshoring and Its Intra- and Inter-Sectoral Components

The aim of this paper is to deepen the analysis of services reshoring in the Spanish services sector, both as a whole and for its constituent elements, examining both intra- and inter-sectoral components. Likewise, it analyzes the impact of this strategy on employment in the services sector, also differentiating between broad reshoring, intra-sectoral reshoring and inter-sectoral reshoring. The data used come from the Input-Output Tables of the Spanish National Accounts published since 2000. The results show Spanish service companies significantly reduced their contracting of activities abroad between 2008 and 2010, substituting foreign intermediate services for domestic services. This process of reshoring is observed with greater intensity in inputs of the same sector. However, since 2010 Spanish service companies have slightly increased their contracting of foreign services per unit of output, adopting new services offshoring strategies, although to a lesser extent than in the period prior to the recession. In the analysis of the effect of reshoring on services employment can be concluded that services reshoring has not generated employment in the Spanish service sector.

The Silver Lining of Perceived Overqualification: Examining the Nexus Between Perceived Overqualification, Career Self-Efficacy and Career Commitment.

This study aimed to investigate how perceived overqualification is linked to an individual's career commitment among service sector employees in China. Additionally, it sought to examine the mediating role of career self-efficacy and the moderating effect of social support. This study collected data from 441 employees using a three-wave data collection design with a two-week gap between each round. Moreover, we employed partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data. The findings asserted that perceived overqualification was positively associated with employee career self-efficacy and commitment. Furthermore, career self-efficacy mediated the link between perceived overqualification and career commitment. The study also demonstrated that perceived overqualification and career self-efficacy were influenced by the level of social support received, with a stronger relationship observed when social support was high. These findings highlight the value of fostering social support and career self-efficacy among coworkers to increase overqualified employees' commitment to their careers and provide valuable insights for organizations seeking to manage their talent pool effectively. The study suggests that when employees perceive themselves as overqualified for their job, it can lead to a higher sense of career self-efficacy, which is the belief in one's ability to perform job tasks effectively. This increased self-efficacy, in turn, can lead to a greater commitment to their career. Furthermore, fostering social support and building career self-efficacy can help organizations manage their overqualified pool effectively and improve employee satisfaction and productivity.

Emotional Intelligence: A tool to create Organizational Citizenship Behavior and minimize service sabotage behaviours in the service sector of Pakistan

Emotional intelligence helps to predict and control the changing behaviour of employees. Our study focuses on customer service sector employees, organizational citizenship behaviour, and service sabotage. The study also explained the effect of emotional intelligence on OCB with the mediation role of emotional labour. In addition, moderation role of EI between emotional dissonance and service sabotage. The time horizon was longitudinal and descriptive; the geographical area included Gujranwala, Lahore, and Sialkot. The study's findings show a significant positive association of emotional intelligence with organizational citizenship behavior. Emotional intelligence significantly moderates the strength of the relationship between emotional dissonance and service sabotage.

Effects of tourism and other macroeconomic variables on women's employment in agricultural, industry and service sectors: evidence from African countries

ABSTRACT This study aims to fill the existing literature gap by exploring tourism's effect on women's employment in 42 African countries while considering advanced econometric modelling. This study applies the panel GLS model, the two-step system GMM, and quantile regression (QR) to evaluate the data from 1996 to 2020. There is evidence to suggest that tourism has a substantial impact on women's employment. Some models are also run to examine how tourism affects women's work in agriculture, industry, and the service sector. Although tourism increases overall female labour force participation, it has a negative coefficient for explaining female labour force participation in agriculture. In fact, tourism has a substantial positive effect on the number of working women in both the service and manufacturing sectors. This research adds to the literature by highlighting the role that tourism plays in facilitating the transition of women from the agricultural workforce to those in the industrial and service sectors. The findings of this study have valuable contributions for future research since they show the importance of women's employment opportunities in agriculture, industry, and service sectors and inform policy discussions on the impact of the tourism industry on women's employment.